Das Vorwort meiner Examensarbeit:
Acknowledgment/Danksagung
“A friend may well be reckoned the masterpiece of nature”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
As I have spent time in Canada before I may call this year “Canada – Chapter 2”. This second chapter has been an incredible journey, which I feel I have lived to the fullest. But none of this would have been possible without the encouragement of my friends, colleagues, teachers and, above all, my family. As I am slowly turning the final pages of this chapter I am starting to delve in the reminiscences of the time when it all begun with my application for the “FU-Direktaustausch”, back then in the fall of 2006. Since then many days have passed but not a single one I would have liked to miss and not a single one without amiable friends.
None of this would have been possible without the continuous care and support from my family. Thus, I am especially grateful to my father who followed me throughout the process of writing my “Wissenschaftliche Hausarbeit” despite the geographical and temporal distance between Germany and Canada. I am also thankful for my mother’s cheerful words so I would maintain my balance.
A very special thank you I would like to dedicate to Ph.D. Carol Pfaff and Jessica Schattschneider who supported me during the application process. Professor Pfaff was also willing to supervise my “Hausarbeit”. I have surely been demanding, but she has managed to spare some time and to give me useful advice.
It has not just been a year of personal growth but of academic growth as well. My most valuable academic experience has been my volunteer work with Ph.D. Ellen Bialystok and her lab members at York University. I thank Professor Bialystok for allowing me to be a full member of her lab. I am much obliged to Dr. Kathleen Peets who has certainly been more than a mentor. Not only has she introduced me to research in child language development, but she has also given me the possibility to contribute to her research this year. To leave this lab does not just mean an academic loss. I am leaving behind some extraordinary friends of whom I would especially like to mention Raluca Barac, a Ph.D. student whom I shared many hours with conversing about the complexity of life, the beauty of love and the need for education. Raluca’s genuineness has been a source of great comfort.
Finally, I would like to give a special thanks to my friends and “roomies” whom I indeed consider a “masterpiece of nature”. Each coming from a different part of the world, Olga, Raquel, and Bregtje have simply been such wonderful friends who have given this year a special blend and whose friendships I deeply value. I would like to thank Olga for all the emotional and academic support, she has given me. I am grateful to Raquel’s good spirits and high hopes and I consider myself very lucky to have found a soul mate in Bregtje.
A few more days we have left in Toronto before this chapter closes. Yet there are many more people to express my appreciation to. I am thankful to Barry for his immense generosity and all the challenges he has put me through. I would also like to thank all my colleagues for their trust. Lastly, I would simply like to thank everyone I have met on this journey, some of whom already departed, but some whom I hope to meet again soon.
Acknowledgment/Danksagung
“A friend may well be reckoned the masterpiece of nature”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
As I have spent time in Canada before I may call this year “Canada – Chapter 2”. This second chapter has been an incredible journey, which I feel I have lived to the fullest. But none of this would have been possible without the encouragement of my friends, colleagues, teachers and, above all, my family. As I am slowly turning the final pages of this chapter I am starting to delve in the reminiscences of the time when it all begun with my application for the “FU-Direktaustausch”, back then in the fall of 2006. Since then many days have passed but not a single one I would have liked to miss and not a single one without amiable friends.
None of this would have been possible without the continuous care and support from my family. Thus, I am especially grateful to my father who followed me throughout the process of writing my “Wissenschaftliche Hausarbeit” despite the geographical and temporal distance between Germany and Canada. I am also thankful for my mother’s cheerful words so I would maintain my balance.
A very special thank you I would like to dedicate to Ph.D. Carol Pfaff and Jessica Schattschneider who supported me during the application process. Professor Pfaff was also willing to supervise my “Hausarbeit”. I have surely been demanding, but she has managed to spare some time and to give me useful advice.
It has not just been a year of personal growth but of academic growth as well. My most valuable academic experience has been my volunteer work with Ph.D. Ellen Bialystok and her lab members at York University. I thank Professor Bialystok for allowing me to be a full member of her lab. I am much obliged to Dr. Kathleen Peets who has certainly been more than a mentor. Not only has she introduced me to research in child language development, but she has also given me the possibility to contribute to her research this year. To leave this lab does not just mean an academic loss. I am leaving behind some extraordinary friends of whom I would especially like to mention Raluca Barac, a Ph.D. student whom I shared many hours with conversing about the complexity of life, the beauty of love and the need for education. Raluca’s genuineness has been a source of great comfort.
Finally, I would like to give a special thanks to my friends and “roomies” whom I indeed consider a “masterpiece of nature”. Each coming from a different part of the world, Olga, Raquel, and Bregtje have simply been such wonderful friends who have given this year a special blend and whose friendships I deeply value. I would like to thank Olga for all the emotional and academic support, she has given me. I am grateful to Raquel’s good spirits and high hopes and I consider myself very lucky to have found a soul mate in Bregtje.
A few more days we have left in Toronto before this chapter closes. Yet there are many more people to express my appreciation to. I am thankful to Barry for his immense generosity and all the challenges he has put me through. I would also like to thank all my colleagues for their trust. Lastly, I would simply like to thank everyone I have met on this journey, some of whom already departed, but some whom I hope to meet again soon.
